The two-week festival between 16 and 27 July 2008 includes performances by artists from Corsica, Norway, Siberia, France, Estonia and the UK and the acts ranges from Sufi and Gregorian chant, to folk, choral and throat singing.

The festival opens with Dhafer Youssef’s Divine Shadows and includes guest artists Lévon Minassian and Satoshi Takeishi. Youssef and Minassian are later joined by the Vienna-based Divine Shadows string quartet and percussionist Satoshi Takeishi, to perform the world premiere of Armenian Longing, a new work written especially for the festival. Youssef is the lynchpin around which the festival revolves, and he appears with different musicians including Corsican vocal group A Filetta and —- across the festival.

DJ Nick Luscombe takes over the Linbury Studio Theatre on 18 July, hosting and DJing at an evening of singer-songwritten music from Katy Carr, Jamie Woon and Sweet Billy Pilgrim.

Other artists appearing include Hungary’s Palya Bea Quintet, Cath and Phil Tyler’s blend of Native American music and English folk, the Sväng New Harmonica Quartet, Norwegian Sidsel Endresen and David Rothenberg

Listings:

16 July. Dhafer Youssef Divine Shadows with special guest artists Lévon Minassian and Satoshi Takeishi

17 July. Dhafer Youssef and Vox Clemantis Sacred Voices (with support from the Embassy of Estonia)

18 July. Nick Luscombe Flomotion featuring Katy Carr, Jamie Woon and Sweet Billy Pilgrim

19 July. Palya Bea Quintet (with support from the Hungarian Cultural Centre)

20 July. Film: Korhinta with live music from the Palya Bea Quintet (with support from the Hungarian Cultural Centre)

Cath and Phil Tyler

Sväng New Harmonica Quartet

21 July. Dhafer Youssef and A Filetta

22 July. Sidsel Endresen — introductory workshop (with support from the Embassy of Norway)

David Rothenberg Why whales and birds sing

23 July. Altai Kai

Film: Cool and Crazy

Sidsel Endresen and Jan Bang

24 July. Lo Cňr de la Plana — Talk

27 July. Helen Chadwick The Singing Circle